Double House

2015 Waverley Heritage and Design Awards – Design Award for Design Excellence for a Multiple Dwelling
2014 shortlisted Houses Awards

The project is an exercise in doubling, replacing an early 20th century duplex with a two-storey pair. Like a duplex, it looks like one house from the street, avoiding the usual narrow street face of a semi. Atypically for a pair however, each dwelling is distinct. The north house is orientated along its length to the adjoining leafy park, the south one through its length to a rear gully garden. The roof folds to allow sunlight into the south house, making it unexpectedly and delightfully sunny. Like the original, the building is brick with distinguishing curved corners and punctured openings. The dark brick exterior gives the sense of a building in the shadows, whilst white rendered surfaces internally maximize the effects of reflected light. Thin steel window boxes provide shade, privacy, animation, and contrast to the weightiness and thermal mass of brick.